DRAMATIC footage of an electrical explosion in Piccadilly captures the narrow escape of a van driver who reverses away from the scene seconds before fire erupts from the pavement.

Westminster Council released the video today ahead of a meeting tonight where bosses at the electricity network will be grilled about the rise in pavement explosions, including the blast that brought central London to a standstill in June this year.

Research by the West End Extra found the number of explosions caused by electrical cables under the streets of Westminster has quadrupled in the past four years.

There have been 13 so-called “disruptive incidents” on the electricity network in Westminster this year.

Figures from the Health and Safety Executive show that there were only three explosions in 2010, increasing to seven in 2012 and eight in 2013.